DUSHANBE , July 16, Asia-Plus - Pakistan said Afghanistan is creating an ``artificial crisis'''' in relations between the neighboring countries and rejected accusations its security forces were behind recent attacks on Afghan territory.

``Such baseless accusations serve no purpose other than vitiating the bilateral atmosphere,'''' the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said yesterday, according to the official Associated Press of Pakistan. The need for a credible partnership in the fight against terrorism should transcend point scoring, it said.

The Afghan government yesterday suspended meetings covering border controls after President Hamid Karzai earlier this week accused Pakistan ''s intelligence service of being behind attacks by militants.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have blamed each other for failing to stop al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters crossing the 2,430- kilometer (1,510-mile) border they share. Tensions increased after Pakistan ''s new government took office in April and began talks with militant groups in the tribal region, a move the U.S. and NATO said led to increased attacks in Afghanistan by fighters based in Pakistan .

`` Pakistan hopes that Afghanistan will do some rethinking and desist from such provocative statements and initiation of a blame game,'''' the Foreign Ministry said, according to APP.

The suspension of regional meetings ``on such flimsy grounds ignores the importance of economic cooperation'''' and has implications for security as well, it said.